Mark Hughes has hailed Newcastle United as one of the “big jobs in the Premier League” – and admits he is scratching his head at the club’s continued struggles.

Many managers have mused about United in the past but Hughes’ verdict on the problems encountered by Steve McClaren seem to hit the nail on the head.

The Stoke boss, whose side have evolved since he took over from Tony Pulis into a decent footballing side, thinks disenfranchised fans and “the ownership of the club” have contributed to making the job a difficult one.

At his pre-match Press conference he said: “It always seems to be a difficult job (Newcastle). In terms of the outside looking it, you look at the stadium and the fans and the passion and it’s one of the big jobs in the Premier League.

“For whatever reason there always seems to be a bit of noise surrounding the situation there. Maybe it’s what’s happening off-the-pitch, the ownership of the club, or fans being a bit disenfranchised or results on the pitch. It never seems to be calm and settled.

“If you can get that, it allows you to do your work under the radar and get on with it. Results come as a consequence of that. Sometimes for Steve it’s a difficult job - it has been for other managers.”